He Gets It
by Silver Fox Animagus
Summary: Tony talks to Loki during his imprisonment in SHIELD, and compares some of their psychological issues. A tiny bit of mild language, basically an excuse for me to psychoanalyze both Tony and Loki in one go.


So I am totally obsessed with the Avengers now...and this was borne of a lack of sleep, mixed in with all the parallels I kept making between Tony and Loki's daddy-issues...I also really wanted to psychoanalyze Loki...yeah it's been forever since I wrote anything

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Tony Stark walked briskly down the brightly lot corridor leading to the max-security cells in the SHIELD base. In no way, shape, or form did heading down for a friendly chat with the most dangerous man currently on the planet seem like a good idea to the man, but hey, acting on good judgement had never been one of his strong suits. So he continued on his brisk walk, wondering exactly it was he planned on saying to the war criminal he was paying a visit to.

Tony approached the cell, and it was no shock that Loki was already standing by the glass separating them, of course he'd have known Tony was on his way down. Despite this prior knowledge, Tony couldn't help but feel a little unsettled by the fact that Loki could so accurately predict the actions of others. "Get a grip, man." Stark mentally chided himself. "he probably isn't even waiting for you, the basket-case might just stand there all day and night for all you know."

"Well what a pleasant surprise, man of iron." Loki greeted him in a tone that chilled the billionaire to his core, for reasons he couldn't quite put his finger on. "And by pleasant surprise, of course I mean entirely unpleasant, and completely expected." the god finished, smirking as he crossed his arms over his chest and turned his back to perch on his cell bench. Tony had completely forgotten what a douche Thor's younger brother could be.

"Is there a particular reason I have been graced with your presence, or is staring at you for the foreseeable future a part of the punishment you mortals cooked up for my transgressions?" Scratch the 'could be' comment, Loki was always a douche.

"Just thought I'd come down for a chat." Tony began, seeming nonchalant, but with the full knowledge that both men in this basement prison knew he had a motive for his visit.

Loki sighed, rubbing at his eyes, calling attention to the fact that it looked as if he hadn't slept in days, at least. "Not that this isn't the most interesting part of my day, I can assure you it is so far, but why exactly are you here?" the god inquired, and Tony could see that he was too exhausted to keep up his haughty, 'god amongst mortals' front, no matter how much it killed him to appear weak in front of one of his enemies.

"I get it." Stark took pity on the would-be dictator, and cut to the chase. His statement only prompted a confused frown from the prisoner, however, so Tony elaborated, "I understand how you feel. And while I absolutely won't condone your actions, I understand why...well to a certain degree, anyway."

At this the confused frown morphed into an angry grimace, "How could you possibly understand my motives, you sniveling mortal fool. I was prompted through my superiority and your underlying desire to be subjugated."

"I know the tag-line, give it a rest. I know a call for attention when I see one. No, no, hear me out." Tony stopped Loki from interrupting once more, "at least let me finish my. It before you get all defensive and deny any accusations that you're more than a ruthless conqueror."

Though it looked as though Loki wanted to protest again, he kept his mouth pressed tightly shut, and leaned back on his seat, preparing for a spiel. Tony, satisfied with the god's silence, pulled a chair forward to be closer to the glass partition, and sat leaning forward, his elbows propped on his knees.

"Now trust me, I know a thing or two about dad issues. Shocking as it may seem, my being an only child, I had to fight for attention, just like you did. and what kid, no matter how brilliant, can fill the shoes of Captain Stars and Spangles?" he shook his head a little, clearing it before he went full-on ranting about the injustices he suffered at the hands of his father. "But we're talking about you here, not me."

"Obviously Thor was the golden child, he reeks of praise and self assurance. You on the other hand...your self assurance is quite plainly a mask." Tony raised a hand as Loki opened his mouth to interject once more, "it's plain to a person who wears the same mask as you do." he offered by way of explanation, and continued on, worrying slightly in the back of his mind that he was giving Loki too much personal ammunition to use against him. Too late to turn back now, though.

"This whole 'take over Midgard' scheme was a cry for attention. That's why, even though you fought to the end, you gave up when you knew you were beat. Because you'd gotten what you wanted, the full attention of your brother and father. Negative attention is better than nothing, right?" Loki just glared at the rhetorical question, not even deigning it with a response. Tony plowed on in this largely monologuing conversation.

"It's also transparently obvious that you still love Thor. As they say, the opposite of love is indifference, and you are quite clearly not indifferent your not-brother, as I believe you prefer to call him. You had every chance to kill him, but you never did. That's gotta count for something, considering the fact that you threw me out a window without a second thought."

"Sorry." Loki ground out between his tightly clenched jaw. Surprised and satisfied with the unexpected apology, Tony let it slide that he had once again been interrupted by the trickster god.

"Having no friends hurts too, I know that much. No one wants to hang out with the bookworm, and you scream bookworm like no one else I've ever met. I bet your peers were much more interested in Thor and his hunting and warrior lifestyle?" Stark took the murderous glare directed at him to mean yes, and nodded, "I thought so." he finished conclusively.

"And finding out your entire life was a lie? That was what really set you over the edge, wasn't it? Knowing that the people around you had kept truths from you, that you weren't who you'd thought you were, having to go back and look through your actions with different eyes. Knowing there was a reason you could never live up to expectations, because the bar was just set too high for you to ever hope to reach. But you don't have to channel it all to anger. You can do something good with your life and your powers. You can stop being so goddamned proud and let Thor help you like he's always trying to." Tony Stark looked at the livid god with empathy.

The inventor continued to sit for a few more minutes, but when the seething deity offered no response to his speech, he shrugged, stood, and left. When Loki was sure he was out of sight he buried his face in his hands. He hated that mortal, more than anyone else he had ever hated. How dare he make such accusations. How dare he pretend he knew him. How dare he try to inadvertently get him to repent for his actions.

How dare he be so painfully right.

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So how was that? Probably a piece of crap, but all comments, particularly constructive criticism, are welcome :) by the by, a thanks to Ninja Giraffe, for posting something and spurring me into using my DSPD time for something relatively productive...oh who am I kidding, I just wrote fanfiction, productive? HA!


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